and dark pointed beard, the
other red and broad and burly; and when they spoke I recognised the
voices I had heard before.

"Yes, thanks. At least I think so," I answered faintly.

"Better give him a tot of rum. That'll bring him to," said the broad
red man, in a voice that rumbled.

"Not much. Grog on top of that whack on the head he got would be the
death of him. Oh, steward! tell the doctor to send along that broth,"
he called out to some one outside.

"Where am I?" was my next and obvious question.

"Board the _Kittiwake_, bound for East London. Cargo, iron rails,"
answered the broad red man.

"Let's see. You ran me down, didn't you?" I said confusedly.

"Run you down? Well, sonny, you lurched your ironclad against our bows
in a way that was reckless. And you warn't carrying no lights neither,
which is clean contrary to Board o' Trade regulations, and dangerous to
shippin'."

"What a narrow squeak I must have had. Are you the captain?"

"No, sir. This here's the captain, Captain John Morrissey," and he
turned to the good-looking, dark-bearded man, whom at first I had taken
for the ship's surgeon.

"Narrow squeak's hardly the word for it, Mr Holt," said this man in a
pleasant voice. "It's more of a miracle than I've seen in all my
experience of sea-going. Ah, I see the doctor has sent you your broth;
you'd better take it, and I wouldn't talk too much just yet, if I were
you."

"You carry a doctor, then. Are you a liner?"

Both laughed at this.

"No, no, Mr Holt," answered the captain. "Doctor's a seafaring term
for the ship's cook, and I believe in this instance you'll find his
prescriptions do you more good than those of the real medico."

I sipped the broth, and felt better; but still had a very confused, not
to say achy, feeling about the head, and again began to feel drowsy.

"I suppose I'll be all right by the time we get in," I said. "Right
enough to land, shan't I?"

The broad red man rumbled out a deep guffaw. The captain's face took on
a strange look--comical and warning at the same time.

"You'll be all right long before we get in, Mr Holt," he said. "Now,
if you take my advice, you'll go to sleep again."

I did take it, and I must have slept for a long time. Once or twice I
half woke, and it seemed to be night, for all was dark save for a faint
light coming in through the closed portholes, and the lulling rocking
movement and swish of the water soon sent me off aga